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A woman is at risk when she has a negative Rh factor and her partner has a positive Rh factor. This combination can produce a child who is Rh positive. While the mother's and baby's blood systems are separate there are times when the blood from the baby can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh positive baby like an intruder in her body. If this happens the mother is said to be sensitized.

A sensitized mother's body will make antibodies. These antibodies will then attack an Rh positive baby's blood, causing it to breaking down the red blood cells of the baby and anemia will develop. In severe cases this hemolytic disease can cause illness, brain damage and even death.

wow that is very scary but something to know thank you..its my best friends baby. she is pregnant right now. isnt due until mid oct. and i'm the godmommy. :/ i just hope all goes well.. but is rh genetic?

I am RH negative so I had to get 2 rounds of RH shots for future pregnancies. It's a shot I will have to get again during and after pregnancy.

Your postive so you have nothing to worry about it means you have a postive blood type. If I didn't get the shots my body will reject the next baby if the baby I'm carrying has a different blood type than me. I'm a- and ds is o+. So of my next baby is not a- blood type my body could kill the baby because it will see it as a foreign object. My first pregnancy was safe but I had to get the shots just in case.

If someone is RH negative they receive a shot around 28 wks and another within 72 hours of giving birth. Those shots decrease the risk of anything happening for both mother and child. And in future pregnancies

This about sums it up. Of course, these days, it is preventable with shots, which I received since I have negative RH, and DH and DS have positive RH.

Quoting kmommy18:

A woman is at risk when she has a negative Rh factor and her partner has a positive Rh factor. This combination can produce a child who is Rh positive. While the mother's and baby's blood systems are separate there are times when the blood from the baby can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh positive baby like an intruder in her body. If this happens the mother is said to be sensitized.

A sensitized mother's body will make antibodies. These antibodies will then attack an Rh positive baby's blood, causing it to breaking down the red blood cells of the baby and anemia will develop. In severe cases this hemolytic disease can cause illness, brain damage and even death.

Rh factors are genetically determined. A baby may have the blood type and Rh factor of either parent, or a combination of both parents. Rh factors follow a common pattern of genetic inheritance. The Rh positive gene is dominant (stronger) and even when paired with an Rh negative gene, the positive gene takes over. For example: If a person has the genes + +, the Rh factor in the blood will be positive. If a person has the genes + -, the Rh factor will be positive. If a person has the genes - -, the Rh factor will be negative. A baby receives one gene from the father and one from the mother.

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